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Duke  University  Libraries 

Additional  rule 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #193 


C.  .f .  Ccntval  plunatoni,  (Svdu.) 

MACON,  GrA.,  May  30,  1863. 
ADDITIO]>TAL    RTTLES 

FOR  THE  LAnORATORIES  OF  C.  S.  ARSENALS  AND  ORDNANCE  DEPOTS. 


Small- Arms'  Ammunition. 

1st.  Greater  care  is  needed  at  some  of  the  Laboratories  witli  regard  to  the 
charges  of  powder  in  small-arms'  cartridges.  Much  irregularity  in  this 
respect  is  observable. 

When  the  regulation  charger  (as  described  in  Ord.  ]\Ian.  cd.  18G3),  cannot 
be  obtained,  it  is  recommended  that  a  little  straight-edge  of  copper  be  sol- 
dered to  the  outside  of  the  funnel  used  in  filling  cartridges  (at  right  angles 
to  the  axis  of  the  funnel),  so  that  the  workman — holding  the  funnel  in  the 
left  hand  and  the  little  cylindrical  powder  measure  in  the  right — may  scoop 
'  up  an  amount  of  powder  sufficient  to  till  the  measure  over  the  edge,  and 
then  "strike"  off  the  excess  of  powder  against  the  straight-edge  attached 
to  the  funnel  in  his  left  hand. 

2d.  There  are  some  discrepancies  with  regard  ^to  charges  for  small-arms' 
cartridges  &c.  between  the  directions  of  the  Ordnance  Manual  (ed.  1863), 
those  of  the  "Field  Manual,"  and  of  the  "  Rules  to  be  observed  in  Labora- 
tories of  C.  S.  Arsenals  and  Ordnance  Depots"  issued  August  27,  1862. 

In  such  cases  of  discrepancy  it  is  directed  by  the  Chief  of  Ordnance 
that  the  "Rules"  &c.,  are  to  be  regarded  as  authority  until  changed  by 
special  orders. 

3d.  Attention  should  be  paid  to  the  form  and  size  of  buck-shot.  Samples 
have  been  received  from  some  arsen^tls  exhibiting  much  irregularity  in  the 
form  of  the  shot,  arising  from  defective  moulds  and  careless  cutting  off  of  the 
"  gate."  Other  samples  have  been  met  with  of  shot  too  large  to  "  cham- 
ber "  in  the  smooth-bore  musket,  for  which  the  cartridges  were  intended — 
from  which  fault,  distortion  of  the  cartridge,  delay  in  loading,  and  inferior 
accuracy  of  fire  will  result. 

4th.  An  effort  should  be  made  to  invariably  send  away  small-arms'  ammuni- 
tion with  caps  in  the  bundles.  The  frequent  demands  from  the  Field  for 
separate  supplies  of  caps  are  partly  evidence  of  and  partly  the  cause  of  much 
waste  of  caps,  which  might  be  to  a  large  extent  prevented  by  their  uniform 
issue  with  the  cartridges. 

5th.  Increased  attention  to  "  bundling"  is  needed.  The  use  of  folding  boxes, 
as  now  arranged  at  Macon  Arsenal,  is  recommended  for  the  production  of 
neat,  compact  bundles. 


No  loose  powder  should  appear  in  the  bundles — its  presence  is  sometimes 
caused  by  careless  "pinching  '  of  the  cartridges,  and  sometimes  by  excea- 
sive  pressure  upon  them  in  bundling. 

Friction  Primers. 

1st.  It  appears  to  have  been  proved  by  experience  that  a  friction  i>rimer  of 
the  length  hitherto  generally  made,  though  answering  well  for  light  guns, 
cannot  always  be  relied  upon  with  certainty  to  fire  guns  of  the  heaviest 
calibre  in  use.  The  length  of  the  tube  should  therefore  be  increased  to  2g 
inches,  of  which  two  inches  should  enter  the  vent  of  the  gun."^' 

2d.  Friction  primers  of  this  increased  length  would  project  into  the  bore  of 
the  r2-pdr.  mountain  howit/.er.  For  this  liowit/.er,  tubes  of  such  a  length 
as  not  to  allow  more  than  1.4  inch  to  enter  the  vent  should  alone  be  issued. 

:;d.  The  best  available  copper  should  be  selected  for  the  tube,  which  should 
be  well  annealed  not  only  during  the  proces.^  of  drawing,  but  after  it  is 
finished.  Neglect  of  this  precaution  increases  the  danger  of  splitting  the 
tube  or  blowing  ott'  its  head. 

4th.  The  wire  used  should  always  if  possible  be  of  brass,  soft,  and  of  good 
quality. 

If  copper  wire  be  unavoidably  used  it  should  Ite  thicker  than  the  regular 
brass  wire. 

The  wire  should  be  well  annealed  after  the  end  has  been  serrated  or 
jagged.  The  flattened  end  of  the  wire  should  be  filed  or  cut  away  to  a  very 
small  width,  and  this  narrow  end  alone  turned  over  the  edge  of  the  small 
(side)  tube,  so  that  the  resistance  offered  to  pulling  out  the  wire  may  not  be- 
so  great  as  to  endanger  pulling  it  in  two. 

5th.  The  loop  on  the  free  end  of  the  wire  should  be  made  round,  not  oval, 
and  should  have  a  clear  interior  diameter  of  not  less  than  .2  of  an  inch. 
Lanyard  hooks  in  service  are  not  strictly  uniform  in  size,  and  it  is  obviously 
very  important  that  no  delay  should  occur  in  passing  the  hook  through  the 
primer  loop. 

Cth.  An  excess  of  friction  couipositiou  should  be  avoided,  as  it  tends  to  blow 
off  the  head  of  the  tube,  leaving  the  tube  itself  in  the  vent,  to  tie  extracted 
with  difficulty. 

7th.  It  is  of  the  first  moment  that  the  primers  should  be  Uioronglibj  dried  in 
a  heated  room,  or  better  in  a  steam-bath.  They  should  be  twice  subjected 
to  this  drying  process — once  after  the  introduction  of  the  friction  compo- 
sition, and  again  after  the  varnishing  of  tlie  upper  end  of  the  tube  and  the 
introduction  of  the  powder. 

8th.     Coarse- (musket)  powder  should  always  be  used  for  filling  the  tube. 

9th.  The  last  step  should  be  the  closing  the  lower  end  of  the  tube  with  wax 
and  pitch,  of  which  but  verj'  little  should  be  used.  Care  should  be  taken 
however  that  the  tube  is  effectually  closed — some  samples  of  friction  pri- 
mers have  been  examined,  from  which  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  pow- 


*This  increase  of  length  will  require  :in  alteration  of  the  machines  used  for  '•drawing"  the 
tubes— the  stroke  of  the  punch  must  be  increased.  This  iilteration  should  be  made  as  soon  a» 
possible— until  it  can  be  effected,  the  tubes  of  leuijth  hitherto  used  must  be  made,  but  their  issue 
lor  service  with  heavy  sea-i'oa"5t  %y<.\\<  should  as  far  as  possible  be  avoided. 


del"  had  sifted,  thus  greatly  weakening  the  force  of  the  primer  on  explosion. 

l^Sdining  Tubes  ("spur"  tubes). 

1st.  The  end  of  the  little  side  or  '-spur  "  tube  should  be  so  covered  with 
.  a  cap  of  water-proof  paper,  that  the  latter  may  be  easily  pulled  off  without 
<  disturbing  the  quick-match — or  the  paper  cap  should  be  made  so  thin  and 
■^  combustible  as  to  be  instantly  pierced  by  the  flame  of  a  port-fire. 
-2d.  The  remarks  made  above,  with  regard  to  closing  effectually  the  lower 
-end  of  friction  primers,  and  thoroughly  drying  them,  apply  equally  to 
>  paper  or  quill  priming  tubes. 

JPercussion  Caps. 

These  also  demand  great  care  in  drying  as  upon  this  process  to  a  large  ex- 
tent depends  their  remaining  serviceable  after  any  considerable  length  of 
time.  They  should — like  friction  primers — be  subjected  to  two  dryings  by 
artificial  heat — the  first  immediately  after  the  introduction  of  the  fulminating 
icomposition — the  second  after  the  cap  is  finished  and  ready  for  issue. 

This  second  drying  should  be  effected  at  a  tolerably  high  temperature,  and 
should  succeed  the  gentle  drying  of  the  varnish  (immediately  after  its  intro- 
duction) in  the  sun  or  a  moderately  warm  room. 

Driven  fuzes,  as  now  in  use.  shouUl  invariably  he  primed  with  fine  grained  or 
mealed  powder. 

Labels  of  fuzes,  friction  Primers,  &c. 

It  being  desirable  to  preserve  some  record  of  the  age  of  fuzes,  friction  pri- 
mers, priming  tubes,  rockets,  and  other  Laboratory  products  liable  to 
deterioration  by  time,  all  packages  of  such  products  should  hereafter  be 
marked,  not  only  with  the  year,  but  the  month^  of  their  preparation — the 
name  of  the  Arsenal  at  Avliich  they  have  been  prepared  being  of  course 
.added  as  usual.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  fuzes,  &c.,  which  were  care- 
fully inspected  and  found  to  be  good  at  the  date  of  their  issue  have  turned 
out  to  l)e  unserviceable  when  needed,  after  a  considerable  length  of  time. 
It  is  important  to  ascertain  the  facts  in  such  cases,  and  to  distinguish  inhe- 
rent defects  from  those  caused  by  careless  storage  or  transportation. 

Precautions  against  accident. 

In  some  of  the  Arsenal  Laboratories,  iron  tools— hammers,  drifts,  wedges  of 
fuze-and  portfire-moulds,  &c.— arc  still  in  use  in  rooms  where  explosive 
materials  are  employed.  These  should  be  replaced  by  tools  of  gun-metal 
in  all  cases  in  which  it  is  possible,  and  iron  tools  should  be  as  far  as  possi- 
ble inaccessible  to  the  workmen  in  such  rooms. 

J.  W.  MALLET,  Capt., 

Supt.  C.  S.  Laboratories. 
Ajtprovcd  : 

J.    GOJRGAS,   Col., 

Chief  of  Ordnance. 

Richmond.  Va..  June  llih.  18G-;. 


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